Chelsea FC

Antonio Conte wants no excuses after Burnley defeat at Stamford Bridge today: the Italian boss remarked that he is satisfied with his current squad and he’s not forcing Chelsea to make other moves in this transfer window:

“I can say that now we got these players and we must work with them, then if the club will be able to do something…better. But now we have to work with these guys.”

“We must focus on working very hard with these players. As for the transfer market, the club is trying to do the best. I am not worried, I am ready to fight with these players.

“I repeat: it is important for us to concentrate on our work, to be focused every day in training and to try to work in our best way. No excuses.”

Antonio Conte was clearly disappointed after Burnley’s home defeat in Premier League first clash at Stamford Bridge and believes there was a referee decision that was a turning point in the game:

“We started well, with the right attitude. The Cahill red card changed everything, I think it was unfair: we lost our mind, we cannot concede three goals in twenty minutes,” the Italian told Sky Sport Italia.

“We tried to come back, we had our chances: it was a double-face game, one negative and one positive. We have to work hard because this season will be really tough and intense.”

Alvaro Morata made an impact after replacing Michy Batshuayi with 30 minutes to go, speaking about him Conte said:

“Alvaro has been training with us for ten days, he is training hard to find the perfect physical shape and understand our game style, this is the reason why I don’t want to put too much pressure and responsibility on him. He is a young guy but he’s got international experience, he did really well in the 30 minutes he played.

When asked if he believes to recover some of the injured players for Spurs game next weekend, Conte claimed:

“I don’t think I can recover some injured player durinng the week, now we will miss also Cahill and Fabregas.

“Speaking about the transfer market I can say that now we got these players and we must work with them, then if the club will be able to do something…better. But now we have to work with these guys.”

Jermaine Jenas reckons Chelsea have found the player to replace Diego Costa.

The former Forest and Spurs midfielder claims Alvaro Morata is the heir of Brazilian-born striker.

After a bad official debut against Arsenal last Sunday, the Spaniard impressed after he entered for Michy Batshuayi with 30′ to go: he scored the Blues first goal, made the assist for David Luiz’s one and had another one disallowed.

“The impact and difference Morata made when he was on the field was unbelievable,” Jenas said as a BT Sport pundit.

“And if Conte’s saying he’s not quite up to speed then I can’t wait to see him when he is up to full speed.

“He did have a bit of Costa about him where he did ruffle a few feathers. He did put himself into challenges and won a few headers, he held up the ball and took his goal well.”

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has ruled out Pedro for Premier League start.

The Italian coach confirmed the Spanish striker is not fit to face Burnley in the first league clash at Stamford Bridge tomorrow:

“Pedro is not available because he is suffering with an injury from the Arsenal game and he wasn’t able to recover, it’s a knock on his ankle,” said the Blues boss in a press conference to preview the match.

Chelsea star Willian admitted Manchester United were keen on him and tried to start a negotiation to bring him to Old Trafford, but the Blues didn’t want to let him go.

“There were a few conversations with my agent. I worked with Mourinho and I became his friend as well,” the Brazilian winger revealed.

“He likes me a lot and I like him a lot as a coach and as a person. He has put his trust in me and in my work, and I was very grateful to him.

“Manchester came to me, they talked with my agent, but nothing happened, because Chelsea would not negotiate me in any way and I’m very happy at Chelsea.”

Willian, anyway, claimed he is more than happy to stay at Chelsea and play under Antonio Conte.

The Brazilian believes both the Italian and Mourinho have a very different way to coach:

“They are very different. Everyone has their way of working. Mourinho is a coach who likes more the ball practice, works the ball possession and makes short games.

“Conte likes to work the tactical and the physical part. Every coach has his way of working. Mourinho is a fantastic coach and won everything wherever he went.

“Conte is a fantastic coach too, because he won everything at Juventus and has already won the Premier League in his first year with Chelsea. Each one has his merits.

“Conte is a coach who works hard every day, works a lot of tactics and the physical part. In the last season, he transformed our team when he changed the formation to 3-4-3. We managed to assimilate very well what he asked us in the training sessions and things worked out.”

Speaking about future Chelsea targets, Willian said:

“I dream of winning more titles with Chelsea, win a Champions League and Fifa Club World Cup with Chelsea and be one of the best players in the world, as well as win titles with the Selecao (Brazil) and a World Cup.